CRASSH

CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN THE ARTS,
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • iTunes U
  • RSS Feeds
  • About
  • What's On
  • People
  • Research
  • Publications
  • Blog
  • Media
  • You are here:
  • Home
  • Media
  • Video
  • Keith Kahn-Harris – Denialism, Post-Denialism and the Boundaries of the Speakable

Keith Kahn-Harris – Denialism, Post-Denialism and the Boundaries of the Speakable

14 June 2018


Description

Abstract 

The term 'denialism' has come to be applied to a cluster of 'alternative' forms of knowledge, including Holocaust denial, global warming denial, anti-vaxxers, 911 conspiracism, creationism and more. In my forthcoming book Denial: The Unspeakable Truth, I argue that denialism arose in modernity as a result of a process in which, post-enlightenment, certain desires and political projects were rendered 'unspeakable' and impossible to legitimate publicly. Denialism is therefore a covert forms of advocating for and legitimating certain courses of action and ways of being in the world. 

The 'alternative' to denialism is, therefore, a dystopian prospect; a world in which the unspeakable becomes speakable again. This alternative is more than a hypothetical possibility. There are signs of a transition occurring from denialism to 'post-denialism'. Post-denialism, embodied in the discourse of Donald Trump, eschews the masquerade of science and scholarship that defines denialism, in favour of a visceral kind of quasi-acknowledgement of that which is denied. This may signal a weakening of the boundaries of the speakable and a concomitant shift in the language of political possibility. 

Biography 

​Dr Keith Kahn-Harris is a sociologist and writer. He is a senior lecturer at Leo Baeck College an associate lecturer at Birkbeck College, and a Fellow of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research. 

This event is part of a series of public talks from the Leverhulme-funded project Conspiracy and Democracy.

Related Media


  • When the Elders of Zion Relocated in Eurabia
  • Ilya Yablokov – Russian Media and Conspiracy Theories
  • Sophia Rosenfeld – Populism, Conspiracy and Common Sense from Thomas Paine to Donald Trump
  • Ieva Jusionyte – Guns and Mosquitoes: How Media Makes Emergency and Routine on the Argentine Border

Related Events


  • Denialism, Post-Denialism and the Boundaries of the Speakable


Blog

  • Bridging Digital Divides: Proud Partners of the Cambridge Social Data School 2021
    Hugo Leal, Monday 19 April 2021
  • 20 Years CRASSH: Global Conversations
    CRASSH News, Wednesday 31 March 2021
  • Beyond Beliefs – Listening to Cultural Voices in Psychological Therapy
    CRASSH News, Thursday 25 March 2021
  • ‘Queering Authoritarianisms’: A Queer Rethinking of Social Justice and Global Politics
    CRASSH News, Tuesday 16 March 2021
  • 20 Years CRASSH: Feminist Thought and Women’s Voices
    CRASSH News, Thursday 4 March 2021

Media

  • Bias in Data: How Technology Reinforces Social Stereotypes
    Videos, Monday 19 April 2021
  • Archives of Sound: Syrian Cassette Archives
    Videos, Thursday 1 April 2021
  • Frank Pasquale and Evan Selinger: New Laws of Robotics: Defending Human Expertise in the Age of AI
    Videos, Thursday 1 April 2021
  • Investigating Female Ageing Through Creative Practice: In Conversation
    Videos, Wednesday 31 March 2021
  • How could blockchain disrupt the democratic landscape?
    Videos, Friday 26 March 2021

Explore CRASSH

  • CRASSH Intranet
  • Equality and Diversity
  • Contact CRASSH
  • Find CRASSH
  • Vacancies
  • Funding Opportunities

Stay Informed

If you would like to be kept up-to-date with the events we hold at the Centre and around Cambridge, please join our mailing list

Signup now

Follow us

@CRASSHlive

Copyright © 2021 Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities

Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DT

Tel: +44 1223 766886 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

CRASSH

  • Accessibility
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy and Cookie Policy
  • RSS Feeds
  • Sitemap
  • Web Design by Chameleon